U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources are restoring a portion of Missouri's Old Lead Belt back into a forest.

It's the first effort that federal and state officials have made to restore a part of the Madison County Mines Superfund Site, part of the Southeast Missouri Lead District. In the 19th century, lead mining heavily contaminated the area, which was listed on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List in 2003.

The Great River National Wildlife Refuge in Annada, Missouri, is acquiring two islands on the Mississippi River to protect wildlife and provide more areas for outdoor recreation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has given $677,500 to the refuge in northeast Missouri, a portion of $21.9 million the U.S. Department of the Interior dedicated to conserving public lands in 16 states. A family near the river used to farm on the 702-acre property, called Slim and Haps Islands, but stopped as flooding increased along the Mississippi River.

The rusty patched bumblebee was once easy to find in the Midwest and eastern United States. Since the 1990s, its numbers have dropped by 87 percent, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Like many wild native bee species in the country, the bee has declined due to pesticide use, habitat loss and climate change, which has affected flowers it depends on.

For five years, state officials and researchers have been trying to bring back an endangered beetle species that disappeared in Missouri more than 40 years ago. Now, they're counting the bugs to see if there's enough of them for a sustained population.

A group of St. Louisans gathered in Brentwood Saturday to participate in the Global March for Elephants, Rhinos and Lions. Local animal rights activist Christina Tenti organized the event, which began with a family-friendly gathering at the Brentwood Community Center.

Music played while kids drew signs and got their faces painted. Several tables manned by people armed with information lined the outskirts of the community room.

Like sturgeon, female paddlefish bloat with tiny eggs, and a single paddlefish can contain 10 pounds of roe, worth as much as $40,000 when labeled and sold as high-grade Russian caviar. Game warden Rob Farr, who patrols rivers and reservoirs in central Missouri, now finds himself battling intrigue that extends to Russia, Kazhakstan and Iran.

The American burying beetle is coming back – more than three decades since it was last spotted in Missouri.

The Saint Louis Zoo and the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Tuesday that they have gotten approval to reintroduce the beetle at the Wah'Kon-Tah Prairie in southwest Missouri. Up to 150 breeding pairs will be placed in underground with dead animals for food - the process starts in June.